EDC 102H F11 Context Reports
Community Data Worksheet - Census Data

Community: Bristol

Zip Code: 02809

Authors: Craig Tilton and Amanda Taylor

Use the data tables below to accumulate data from reliable sources about a particular geographical region of Rhode Island. After you have assembled this information, turn it into knowledge by synthesizing a series of sensible paragraphs.

I. Community Data Collection

A. Income Poverty Data

Year data collected:

To collect data on the state of Rhode Island:

Go to American Factfinder page on the US Census Bureau website
Select Rhode Island from the drop-down menu (do not type into the search field)
Collect data from the Economic Characteristics section
Use other sections to collect additional data as needed

To collect data on your community:

Return to the American Factfinder
Type the name of your community in the “city/town, county, or zip” box
Follow instructions 3 and 4 above

	Community	Rhode Island	United States
Median household income			$51,425
Median family income			$62,363
Per capita income			$26.059
Families below poverty level			9.9%
Individuals below poverty level			13.5%
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B. Race and Ethnicity Data

Year data collected:

To collect data on the state of Rhode Island:

Use the American Factfinder page to locate the Fact Sheet or either your zip code or the state of Rhode Island
Collect data from the ACS Demographic Estimates section
Use other sections to collect additional data as needed

22,502 People total in Bristol, 1,057,381 in RI

	Community	Rhode Island	US
White	21,908/ 97.4%	875,224/ 82.8%	74.5%
Black/African Americans	98/ 0.4%	57,658/ 5.5%	12.4%
Asian	320/ 1.4%	29,067/ 2.7%	4.4%
Hispanic	301/ 1.3%	120,586/ 11.4%	15.1%
American Indian or Alaska native	9/ 0.0%	4,520/ 0.4%	0.8%
Foreign Born	3,125/ 13.9%	132,122/ 12.5%	12.4%
Speak language other than English at home	4,148/ 19.2	203,728/ 20.5%	19.6%
Male	10,933/ 48.6%	512,141/ 48.4%	49.3%
Female	11,569/ 51.4%	545,240/ 51.6%	50.7%
Average Family Size	3.03/ X	3.17/ X	3.19

The population of Bristol, Rhode Island is very much like that of the state as a whole in many ways, but race is not one of them. The numbers are similar in categories such as female, male, and average family size, even similar in comparison to the United States. However, within the community, 97.4% of the population is Caucasian, which is high compared to the 82.8% in Rhode Island and 74.5% in the United States. This leaves 98 African Americans, 320 Asians, 301 Hispanics, and 9 Native Americans or Alaskans to make up the other 3.1% of people in Bristol. The Hispanic and African-American statistics from Bristol are at least 10% under the country's statistics. Something that is a bit odd is that even with the Caucasian population so high and diversity so low, Bristol in still in sync statistically with both the state and the country in both the "foreign born" and "speak language other than english at home" categories. One would think that these would be less because of the low diversity. So, although Bristol is comprable to the state and country in many other aspects, when you look solely at the numbers of different racial groups, it is clear that Bristol is not very diverse.

Bristol

Selected Economic Characteristics	Estimate	Percent
Employed	11,753	60.9%
Unemployed	673	3.5%
All parents are in the labor force and child is under 6 years	901	81.8%
All parents are in the labor force and child is between 6 and 17 years	2,104	82.1%
Median household income (dollars)	63,885	(X)
Mean household income (dollars)	79,212	(X)
Median family income (dollars)	81,444	(X)
Mean family income (dollars)	96,343	(X)
Families below poverty level	(X)	4.7%

Per Capita Income (dollars)

30,889

Individuals Below Poverty Level

7.9%

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=06000US4400109280&-qr_name=ACS_2009_5YR_G00_DP5YR3&-ds_name=ACS_2009_5YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-_sse=on

Selected Household Characteristics	Estimate	Percent
1 vehicle available	2,443	29.0%
2 vehicles available	3,443	40.8%
3 or more vehicles available	2,023	24.0%
Home worth $300,000 to $499,999	2,928	51.0%
Median home worth (dollars)	355,500	(X)
Monthly mortgage $2,000 or more	1,960	50.0%
Median monthly mortgage (dollars)	2,001	(X)

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=06000US4400109280&-qr_name=ACS_2009_5YR_G00_DP5YR4&-ds_name=ACS_2009_5YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-_sse=on

Bristol is an affluent community in Southern Rhode Island. The employment rate is great, 60% of the community is employed and almost all parents with children under 17 are employed. Both parents are employed who have children in about 80% of the population. The mean household income of Bristol is $79,212 and the mean family income is $96,343. There is also a limited amount of families below poverty level. About half of the population have a house worth at least $300,000 and are paying a monthly mortgage of $2,000 or more. All of these economic and household factors lead to the fact that the children who live in Bristol have the resources that they need in order to get a good education. It was said in “Shame of the Nation” that affluent communities tend to have more donations from parents and lead to better schools with more resources. Based on the economic data, the children in Bristol should have the resources they need because of their parents have plenty of money.

II. Narrative Description of Community

Use the data you collected above to develop a series of paragraphs that describe your community (zip code) and draw comparisons with the rest of the state and / or district. Here is an example of how to do this.

Need assistance? Contact Mona Anne Niedbala, Education & Curriculum Materials Librarian, at 401-874-9433, or email at mflorea@mail.uri.edu.

EDC 102 F11 - Census - Bristol